Would you lose interest in Rolex if it was easily available?

[mfserge]

I don’t care what the values are, I just want to be able to go into an AD and buy a Pepsi and a Skydweller to complete my lineup of favorite pieces, two watches that I think are beautiful for what they are and not their potential resale value. I

[Old Expat Beast]

The shortage, or whatever folks want to call it, and resulting prices of new and used/vintage made me lose interest and move to other brands. I sold quite a lot of my Rolex collection, and the ones I still have get very little wrist time, as I genuinely prefer my other watches now.

[hambone1983]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

The shortage, or whatever folks want to call it, and resulting prices of new and used/vintage made me lose interest and move to other brands. I sold quite a lot of my Rolex collection, and the ones I still have get very little wrist time, as I genuinely prefer my other watches now.

if I may ask, which other brands have caught your eye?

[Oyster Sauce]

A change in availability probably wouldn't change my interest in Rolex. I'll say, however, that my interest in Rolex is mild to begin with. I believe Rolex to make attractive, robust watches that deserve to be respected in the watch community, but I'm not desperate for or seeking hard after any of them. I have what I have, purchased at reasonable prices when the opportunity arose. I refuse to pay the crazy inflated non-MSRP prices for Rolex (and pretty much any watch). I'd welcome a return to "normalcy" of Rolex watches at boutiques and ADs...would probably be an opportunity to purchase a piece or two that interests me at MSRP. May never happen, and I'm okay with that.

[Bigmozza]

No I would be made up I’d go and buy blue dial Sky Dweller and rose gold DD olive dial

[Polar Bear]

Most people would say "no" but that begs a deeper question

Why are you interested in Rolex in the first place?

The amount of people who come here claiming to be "watch collectors" but only buy Rolex shows there seems to be a delta between people who like watches and people who like Rolex

If you want a well made, accurate watch that you can hand down to your kids, there are a thousand options out there.

The value retention and investment angle seems to be an underlying drive for a lot of new Rolex buyers, I feel like this speaks more to their financial position than anything else. People say they want to "hand it down", but if your planning to never sell it, why does it matter what its worth in 10 years time?
If you cant afford to take a small loss on a watch, you shouldnt be buying it. IMO

In 2022, mechanical watches are superfluous luxury goods.
I'm all for buying smart but the paradox of "I'll never sell it, but do you think it will hold value" is a strange one to me

The easiest way to never loose money on a watch is to never actually sell it

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

Most people would say "no" but that begs a deeper question

Why are you interested in Rolex in the first place?

The amount of people who come here claiming to be "watch collectors" but only buy Rolex shows there seems to be a delta between people who like watches and people who like Rolex

Design aesthetic, ease of use, reliability, and above all, wearing comfort.

Value retention doesn't factor in because it shouldn't for watches. It's nice if it happens but it's not something you can depend on in the medium to long term for any brand.

The majority of watches my wife and I own are worth fractions of what we bought them for, even after some generous AD discounts. It doesn't matter. We love them just the same and after all, they're only watches. We're not watch collectors. We just like nice things and we own some watches.

[thenewrick]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

Most people would say "no" but that begs a deeper question

Why are you interested in Rolex in the first place?

The amount of people who come here claiming to be "watch collectors" but only buy Rolex shows there seems to be a delta between people who like watches and people who like Rolex

If you want a well made, accurate watch that you can hand down to your kids, there are a thousand options out there.

The value retention and investment angle seems to be an underlying drive for a lot of new Rolex buyers, I feel like this speaks more to their financial position than anything else. People say they want to "hand it down", but if your planning to never sell it, why does it matter what its worth in 10 years time?
If you cant afford to take a small loss on a watch, you shouldnt be buying it. IMO

In 2022, mechanical watches are superfluous luxury goods.
I'm all for buying smart but the paradox of "I'll never sell it, but do you think it will hold value" is a strange one to me

The easiest way to never loose money on a watch is to never actually sell it

For me as a new collector I wanted a good benchmark and reliable 1st option with very limited funds. I wanted something versatile and long lasting. Once I get 3-4 Rolex that I'm interested in I'll start buying other brands. While I do like the Cellini line, I wouldn't buy one for my first dress watch.

I wanted something classic, something sporting, something fun, something vintage, a dress watch from another brand.. then after that I have no plans. It'll take me 10+ years just to get the stuff I'm currently after. Availability and prices don't really matter to me much. I only buy new except for vintage. Don't plan to sell anything ever really. But you never know when you hit a dry spell or anything can happen.

[edisonstar23]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

Most people would say "no" but that begs a deeper question

Why are you interested in Rolex in the first place?

The amount of people who come here claiming to be "watch collectors" but only buy Rolex shows there seems to be a delta between people who like watches and people who like Rolex

If you want a well made, accurate watch that you can hand down to your kids, there are a thousand options out there.

The value retention and investment angle seems to be an underlying drive for a lot of new Rolex buyers, I feel like this speaks more to their financial position than anything else. People say they want to "hand it down", but if your planning to never sell it, why does it matter what its worth in 10 years time?
If you cant afford to take a small loss on a watch, you shouldnt be buying it. IMO

In 2022, mechanical watches are superfluous luxury goods.
I'm all for buying smart but the paradox of "I'll never sell it, but do you think it will hold value" is a strange one to me

The easiest way to never loose money on a watch is to never actually sell it

I agree with 100% - Most people will claim they love the brand, this that. But one thing that makes Rolex ROLEX is the value retention. Not that you want to turn around and sell it for the same price you paid or for higher. But is nice to know that if sh** hits the fan, you can liquidate and have some or most of the money back.

Would people buy Rolex if they depreciated over the years like a car does? Sure! Will it make this hobby less appealing, imo YES.

[JC316]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

Most people would say "no" but that begs a deeper question

Why are you interested in Rolex in the first place?

The amount of people who come here claiming to be "watch collectors" but only buy Rolex shows there seems to be a delta between people who like watches and people who like Rolex

If you want a well made, accurate watch that you can hand down to your kids, there are a thousand options out there.

The value retention and investment angle seems to be an underlying drive for a lot of new Rolex buyers, I feel like this speaks more to their financial position than anything else. People say they want to "hand it down", but if your planning to never sell it, why does it matter what its worth in 10 years time?
If you cant afford to take a small loss on a watch, you shouldnt be buying it. IMO

In 2022, mechanical watches are superfluous luxury goods.
I'm all for buying smart but the paradox of "I'll never sell it, but do you think it will hold value" is a strange one to me

The easiest way to never loose money on a watch is to never actually sell it

I've been a member on this forum for quite a long time. I was always interested in the brand because I liked their designs and felt that it was reasonably priced.

I still feel that it is reasonably priced, if you can buy it at retail. I, like many others, still like Rolex but are being turned off by the current state of the market. So I continue to admire Rolex from a far while I continue to enjoy the hobby with other brands and their offerings.

If the market ever comes back down to reality, I may once again consider adding more to my collection. Until then, I will live vicariously through those of you who are able to purchase at retail and those of you who are spirited enough to pay gray!

[Bozack90]

Originally Posted by JC316

I've been a member on this forum for quite a long time. I was always interested in the brand because I liked their designs and felt that it was reasonably priced.

I still feel that it is reasonably priced, if you can buy it at retail. I, like many others, still like Rolex but are being turned off by the current state of the market. So I continue to admire Rolex from a far while I continue to enjoy the hobby with other brands and their offerings.

If the market ever comes back down to reality, I may once again consider adding more to my collection. Until then, I will live vicariously through those of you who are able to purchase at retail and those of you who are spirited enough to pay gray!

Same here, I like/love tons of watches and or brands but gravitate to Rolex and Omega when it comes time to buy because they are durable, relatively reasonably priced, can be serviced most anywhere, and are good enough for what I am looking for, but now with the current situation getting a Rolex at retail isn't a reality.

[Wee-Willie]

No, I loved the days when I could walk into the AD with a full case & buy what I wanted & could wear it home.

[Laostuh]

No, I wasn't able to afford them when they were readily available. But now that I am able to afford them the market has gone insane. So if they were readily available I would probably buy 1 every other month until I have 5 and call it a day.

[Nairn1980]

Originally Posted by Wee-Willie

No, I loved the days when I could walk into the AD with a full case & buy what I wanted & could wear it home.

agree

[just1time]

If there were easily attainable they would be regular luxury goods and wouldn't appeal to a lot of people. The scarcity is part of what makes it desirable for a LOT of people.
We always want what we cant get.

[TimeAZ]

If you care about "investment" and value retention, then you will lose interest if there's greater availability.

If you are an enthusiast, hobbyist, or otherwise actually enjoy wearing a finely crafted, beautiful and supremely comfortable watch, then you will celebrate greater availability.

I am in the second camp.

[JimSnyder]

No

[Driver8]

No. I've been into watches for a long time - close on 30 years - and I've owned and enjoyed many brands during that time, the vast majority of which have been, and are, readily available. Did that availability change how I felt about those watches? Not in the slightest. I buy watches because I like them, not because of how "hard to get" or "exclusive" they're perceived to be.

The same goes for Rolex. Until around 2017, the longest I'd ever had to wait for a Rolex was around 3 months for a 16610LV back in 2005. And that 3 months was absolutely unheard of at the time.

Personally I'd absolutely love it if Rolexes were more readily available. I like watches for what they are, not for how much they're worth, or how much they increase in value, or how exclusive they are, or how many "likes" they're worth. If anything, the lack of availability and all the hype nonsense puts me off.

[Avs Fan]

No. I bought my first (16600) when it available everywhere at MSRP. i bought it because I liked it. Scarcity had nothing to do with my decision in 2008. Things have obviously changed, but I more recently purchased my 126660 JC and LVc for the same reason.

[HogwldFLTR]

Whenever I started in this forum most Rolex were easily available; I was interested in the watches and their history. Now I'm almost disinterested due to all the hype and unavailability. Way too much BS for me.

[WestCoastS]

Nope I would still prefer the brand

[PleaseStandBack]

If they were easier to get I may start buying them from an AD. As it stands I’ve bought six in the last two years but none were from Rolex ADs because I don’t have the patience to wait by my phone. I don’t understand why Rolex doesn’t allow ADs to sell over MSRP like the car industry.

[brandrea]

I’ve been interested in the brand since I started collecting in 1992. I’ve seen everything from significant discounts for popular SS professional references to the insanity that is today.

Still interested, but other brands now pique my interest more

[JTL31]

Originally Posted by brandrea

still interested, but other brands now pique my interest more

+2.

[Mystro]

Been with the brand over 30 years so…….

[Zyfon]

Don't believe I would since I was interested in them long before the shortage. I still remember a time when you could walk into most ADs and pick up pretty much any model you want.

[Ichiran]

I buy what I like regardless of market value.

[amanbra]

Personally no, there is a specific reason of size that draws me to Rolex over other competitors. For a lot of people though yes i think it will be a turn off. And that's just great =)

[Tools]

Until recently, just like trying to find a new car on the lot, Rolex has always been relatively easy to find and buy. What else is "hard to get" that one would feel is a must-have for that reason alone?

I don't understand the point of the perspective of this "poll"

[kieselguhr]

I personally wouldn’t. My attachment to the brand is sentimental though so maybe that helps.